This blog began several years ago as a narrative of our efforts to lead a sustainable and self-sufficient lifestyle in the middle of our city. It still is, although our city has changed from Raleigh to Boise and we now are working diligently on restoring the family homestead in Montana.
The blog is also a chronicle of our lives together as a married couple, marriage being a sort of homesteading in itself.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

I’ve got a question for everyone. Has the world of higher education always been so cumbersome? During my search to find the right program I’ve noticed that few things remain constant throughout nearly all educational institutions. Just what is one of those constants? Randomness!

Every 2 year college, 4 year college, and university seem to have a different set of standards that must be met in order to apply. Some of the nursing programs out there have random prerequisites while others are just plain outrageous. The programs I’ve research include those in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and North Carolina. Each program is 180 degrees out from the other programs with regard to prerequisites, and curriculum. No two are the same. Some insist that you must be a Certified Nursing Assistant or LPN prior to applying. Others say you must have taken Chemistry, Algebra, and Biology within the past 5 years (or you have to take them again prior to applying). Some programs dictate that you must have 2 semesters of a foreign language in order to apply. Some of these prerequisites apply even if you are 2nd degree student! I felt that if I were going to get accepted into any program I had to apply to every program I could find. Then I found Boise State University, and it seems to have kept its sanity in check while designing its program. Boise State University seems great so far and with just a few steps, the application process was simple. Get my transcripts sent. Apply. Bang, I’m accepted into BSU (I even have a student ID).

Next comes the Nursing Application, with even fewer steps it appeared to be a skate. All I had to do was take a placement test, send the transcripts and I should be in…

Nothing good in life comes easy… Right?

It hasn’t been quite that easy because, in North Carolina, I couldn’t take the exact test that BSU requires.

All I had to do was enter the college algebra section in order to max out the math score at 99. If we were in Boise when I took the test I would have scored 13 points higher I needed to cinch it. Alas, here is where the “nothing good comes easy”. I took the only version of the test I could find here in NC and the test didn’t let me into the college algebra section. I was back at the books. After a couple more weeks of studying I rescheduled the test, confirmed with BSU and the testing facility regarding how the test needed to be administered. My test was supposed be Monday, and I was ready! Monday… I played it safe and spoke with the test coordinator to confirm what I had been told the previous Thursday. Good thing I did, she informed me that the rules had just changed on Friday and I couldn’t take the test the way I needed to be administered. With the application deadline of March 1st, I started to panic. I thought I would be on the first plane smoking to Boise to take their test. After several hours, phone calls, and emails with the testing coordinator at BSU I finally got some good news. Since my score of 63 on the test exceeds their standard of 50, they will accept my test. According to the projections made by BSU regarding this coming semester’s crop of applicants will need to have a test score of 196 in order to get into the program. My math score is 99, my english score is 97 so with a 196 I would be borderline. Bonus: I get 6 extra points for the classes I’ve completed that are part of the BSU curriculum! My application score should be 202! I am still crossing every digit I can find for good luck. I really, really want to be in the BSU program. I am not going to say “I’m in” yet, but I do feel better about my application for the nursing program at BSU than I have ever felt. I really, really do NOT want to go back through the random application phase again. I might not survive another venture through the application gauntlet with the dignity that I’ve managed to maintain through this one. Cross your fingers for me!